When Big Country founder and lead singer Stuart Adamson died in 2001, most would have assumed that the Scottish band was finished. But in 2007, the group reunited for a 25th-anniversary tour with a new lead singer in its lineup. Though Adamson was a hard man to replace, Big Country found comfort in recording and playing with Mike Peters, formerly of The Alarm.

World Cafe

4:07 pm

Thu August 1, 2013

When Lissie stopped by World Cafe for her session about a month ago, she still didn't have a name for her new album. Now titled Back to Forever, the singer's second record is due out Sept. 10; it comes three years after the release of her debut, Catching a Tiger. Lissie's new songs emphasize her observations of the world around her. "Shameless," for example, focuses on what people will do for stardom.

World Cafe

1:48 pm

Wed July 31, 2013

Though Rhye's debut album, Woman, was released this past March, many first encountered the duo of Mike Milosh and Robin Hannibal in a series of evocative videos released in 2012. There was little to no accompanying information and — as Milosh says — that was exactly the point. The idea was to keep listeners focused on the music and not the personality of the singer.

Tue July 30, 2013

La Santa Cecilia got its start playing a mix of rancheras, norteno music and other Mexican-influenced rhythms for tourists and passers-by on Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles. The group developed a strong following as it started writing original songs and playing in clubs and other venues.

Mon July 29, 2013

Alt-psychedelic quintet Coke Weed is from picturesque Bar Harbor, well up the Maine coast. The band just released its third album, Back To Soft, which took nine months to make and is — despite the title — its heaviest release so far.

Lead by songwriter Milan McAlevey, the band has immersed itself in '60s psych-rock, pledging allegiance to the likes of Jefferson Airplane. So that makes singer Nina Donghia the group's Signe Toly Anderson.

Fri July 26, 2013

Steve Martin is a true Renaissance man, having run the gamut of accomplishments from acting to writing to art collecting. He's also an award-winning banjo player, offering easy, lilting banjo melodies alongside former New Bohemian Edie Brickell's lyrics on the duo's latest album, Love Has Come For You.

Thu July 25, 2013

In this installment of Latin Roots, the World Cafe team travels to Fidel Nadal's home studio in Buenos Aires for a session with a reggae performer who truly owns his genre. Nadal has 15 solo records to his name, and his album Forever Together was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2011.

Before fully going solo, Nadal spent a lot of time as a member of the punk-reggae band Todos Tus Muertos, which made six albums between 1988 and 2010. Hear three songs in this World Cafe session, recorded live in Buenos Aires.

World Cafe

2:45 pm

Thu July 25, 2013

Jeff Lynne isn't quite at the forefront of '70s and '80s classic rock, but he was responsible for some formidable records with Electric Light Orchestra and Traveling Wilburys; later, he produced releases for Wilbury collaborators Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and George Harrison.

Wed July 24, 2013

Nomad is an appropriate title for Bombino's new album; a member of the Tuareg tribe in Saharan Africa, the guitar was first relocated to a refugee camp in Algeria, where he learned to play his instrument. In 2011, he went into exile in Burkina Faso, which led to the making of his first album, Agadez.

World Cafe

1:49 pm

Tue July 23, 2013

Brett and Rennie Sparks have inhabited a unique musical world together since the '90s. As The Handsome Family, husband Brett sings and writes the melodies while wife Rennie focuses on the lyrics; the resulting ghost stories and murder ballads have won the band an intense cult following. After years spent in Chicago, where Wilco helped boost its profile, The Handsome Family now resides in Albuquerque, N.M.